polishgenius Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Who??? I quit after Toll the Hounds. Is she only in the last 3? Because I don't remember her at all.She's one of the main PoVs in the Bonehunters storyline, starting from that book. She may have made a cameo before that, I'm not sure, but she's a major character from then on.I did enjoy Hellian, but I think my favourite woman character from the Malazan books was Tavore. Her character's revealed veerrrrrry slowly coz of how close she plays her cards to her chest, but I loved how flawed-yet-awesome she turns out in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wolverine Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 She's one of the main PoVs in the Bonehunters storyline, starting from that book. She may have made a cameo before that, I'm not sure, but she's a major character from then on.I did enjoy Hellian, but I think my favourite woman character from the Malazan books was Tavore. Her character's revealed veerrrrrry slowly coz of how close she plays her cards to her chest, but I loved how flawed-yet-awesome she turns out in the end.I looked her up in the Malazan wiki and do remember her now. I guess it has been a while since I read The Bonehunters, but usually my memory is better than that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polishgenius Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 In fairness, while she is quite entertaining in her own right, in the larger sense her role in story terms is mostly observational, she doesn't really do that much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sci-2 Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Wow, lots of good ones. Some more:Pecola Breedlove from Bluest Eye.Dax and Kira from DS9.Sethe from Beloved.Baba Yaga and Marya Morevna from Deathless.Jenny Sparks, Rogue, Nico Minoru, Jessica Jones, Mazikeen, Jakita Wagner, Miranda Zero from comics.Parvati in all her aspects (Durga, Kali, etc) from Hinduism.Scully from X-files.Jess from New Girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galleymac Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 From my kidhood, I definitely remember loving both Anne Shirley (of Green Gables) and Sally J. Freedman (As Herself). Now that I'm thinking about it, they were very similar in having a rich inner life. (Sally's inner life had her assassinating Hitler...)I never really liked Bellis from The Scar, but I wanted her to triumph and was totally on her side, which I very much recognized as a really neat writing/characterization accomplishment at the time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowborn Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Creta Kanô, from The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. A prostitute of the mind.Sofia Marmeladova, Sónechka, from Crime and Punishment. Her innocence and her desperation made her unforgettable to me.Sansa and Cat, from ASoIaF. I love their courage and strength, while they're still perfect ladies.... there are many more, but that's all I can think of now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winter's Knight Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Lucy Snow from Villette-one of the strongest women in literature according to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isalie Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 The most recent one to leave an impression is Fleur Pillager in Tracks, she's something of a charicature and avatar of the Native Americans but her story is really compelling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Solmyr Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Min - Wheel of Time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prince Alexander Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 My favourite is Lady Macbeth.She's a strong character, if not one of the strongest female characters in Shakespeare's Plays and I love how important her presence is, especially in the first two acts of the play.She reminds me of Cersei in a way that she's a woman who's not fragile or a damssel in distress. Lady Macbeth is ruthless, ambitious and wants power. I mean, she's the one that plots the murder of the King when Macbeth is too soft to do it on his own and she basically tells him to be a man and do it. I'm sure she would have killed the King herself!. Then takes the daggers back to the King's room when the stupid of her husband doesn't want to return to the scene of the crime and then smears the drugged servants with blood so they can be blamed of the crime.I don't like that after that the plays gives more importance to Macbeth (Yes, I know the play is named Macbeth for a reason but still...)Lady Macbeth is and always will be a fantastic female character.Was thinking about Lady M as soon as I read OP :) Her Gregor Cleganian baby smashing reference is bloody incredible.I also like Catelyn. She's realistic, not cliched, flawed, and (to me personally) very sympathetic. I generally have a weak spot for characters of either gender that are continuously beaten down, but find strength to go on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sci-2 Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I also like Catelyn. She's realistic, not cliched, flawed, and (to me personally) very sympathetic. I generally have a weak spot for characters of either gender that are continuously beaten down, but find strength to go on.Cat's a good one. She starts off rather unlikable based on Jon's POV, but she becomes more sympathetic over time. GRRM has a talent for making us reconsider characters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elba the Intoner Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I'm right there with those of you who mentioned Jane Eyre. I love her spirit so much.But I can't believe no one has mentioned Elizabeth Bennet yet from Pride and Prejudice and Emma Woodhouse from Emma, both by Jane Austen. I love Elizabeth's intelligence and her strong will and determination never to settle for marrying someone she can truly love. I love Emma for her idealism and innocence and good heart and also like Elizabeth never giving up on love. She reminds me a lot of Sansa, which of course brings me to both Stark girls, Sansa and Arya. I love them for what they have gone through and how they both are showing they are survivors. Sansa wants love on her terms too and I love her for holding on to that ideal, and Arya I love for her sense of justice and determination.Also, Leila and Maryam from A Thousand Splendid Suns. I can never forget either one of them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyanna Stark Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Jane Eyre and Elizabeth Bennet are givens, love them both.From SFF,Erikson's Felisin is a conflicted, destructive anti-heroine.Abercrombie's Monza Murcatto deserves to be mentioned again and again as a pretty arseholish woman you still want to win and just crush everyone under her bootheels.Daniel Abraham's Idaan Machi is another fabulous female anti-hero.ASOIAF's got loads of great female characters, Arya, Sansa, Dany and Cat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingofashes Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I also like Catelyn. She's realistic, not cliched, flawed, and (to me personally) very sympathetic. I generally have a weak spot for characters of either gender that are continuously beaten down, but find strength to go on.I have a weakspot for Cat aswel and felt sympathy to her from aCoK onwards. A very well written women considering it was a guy who wrote her.I'm struggling to think of specific women but I remember a good few female characters from Ian Banks and Paul Auster that I thought were amazing, cool, intelligent women (or as Irvine Welsh might say they were sexy feminists :-))I mentioned the Garden of Evening Mists in another thread and the main protaginist is a female who goes through hell as a young girl but still comes out as a strong and good person.Douglas Coupland has a few aswel like Eleanor Rigby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isalie Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Didn't Lady Macbeth go crazy in the end? ;) Also, we give props for plotting to kill our way to power? She definitely is the mold for Cersei though.Gotta second Jess from New Girl, I like me some feel good TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Liz Lemon/thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry of the Lawn Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 If we're going with TV characters...Daria Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Selig Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 Lucy Snow from Villette-one of the strongest women in literature according to me. Agreed. She's one of the best written characters I've ever come across.Anyway, from SFF, my picks off the top of my head would be: Cordelia Naismith.CatelynChung Mae from Geoff Ryman's AirTenar from EarthseaHagia from Valente's Prester John books. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sci-2 Posted March 8, 2013 Share Posted March 8, 2013 I put some of the cooler/stronger characters in my original post, but let me add Louise from Bob's Burgers for humor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lord Toblerone Posted March 9, 2013 Share Posted March 9, 2013 Tenar from EarthseaSeconded.Another Le Guin character, from her fairly recent novel Voices (middle part of a very good trilogy) - Memer.Plus Tiffany Aching from Discworldand of course, Brienne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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